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Military

The Museum's superb military collections document the history of the men and women of the armed forces of the United States. The collections include ordnance, firearms, and swords; uniforms and insignia; national and military flags and banners; and many other objects.

The strength of the collections lies in their enormous depth. Some 3,000 military small arms and 2,400 civilian firearms document the mechanical and technological history of the infantryman's weapons from the beginning of the gunpowder era to the present. Among the 4,000 swords and knives in the collection are many spectacular presentation pieces. The collections also include Civil War era telegraph equipment, home front artifacts from both world wars, early computers such as ENIAC, Whirlwind, and Sage, and materials carried at antiwar demonstrations.

Ink and watercolor color sketch on paper. The work depicts a field encampment near Dun-sur-Meuse, France during World War I. A road cuts through a field where there are a large number of tents pitched. Several graves marked by crosses line one side of the road.

Charcoal and ink wash sketch on paper. Troops and army trucks pass over a small bridge. A sign posted on the bridge reads "Langsam Fahren" or "Drive Slowly". A large building sits atop a hill in the background of the scene. Buildings line the road on the right side of the sketch.